Privacy Policy – Analytics Edge

For the Analytics Edge Website, see https://www.analyticsedge.com/privacy-policy-analyticsedge-com/

updated 2023-09-12

Analytics Edge Products

The Analytics Edge Add-in for Excel, Analytics Edge Desktop App, and Analytics Edge Connector products (the “Product”) are software packages installed locally on your computer. The Analytics Edge Add-in for Excel and Analytics Edge Desktop App have a number of Connectors which you can install and/or activate independantly.

Most Products require you to login to one or more accounts to operate. When you complete an account login, a security access token is created and stored, strongly encrypted, on your computer for use only by the Product itself. You can delete the stored access tokens by deleting entries in the product’s Accounts wizards. Security access tokens are not are not shared with or available to Analytics Edge Inc — your computer sends them with your query directly to the respective service API. See Analytics Edge Product Security below for further details.

The individual Products request and use the following permissions to operate:

Analytics Edge Add-in for Excel

When you activate the Analytics Edge Add-in for Excel on your computer, you must provide a valid email address. This email address is used to associate the license keys with an individual so you can request license resets or transfers. It may also be used to contact you about time-critical product support issues.

Separate accounts can provide you with access to Google Sheets files stored in Google Drive accounts, and to send Gmail messages from within the Product.

Connect itself to your Google Drive – this allows you to associate selected files and folders with the Add-in to make them visible in Read Google Sheets and Write to Google Sheets functions wizards.

See, edit, create, and delete only the specific Google Drive files you use with this app – this allows the Add-in to list the associated files and folders in your Google Drive so you can then select a Google Sheets file to be accessed.

See, edit, create, and delete all your Google Sheets spreadsheets – this allows the Product to read and write your data into your selected Google Sheets spreadsheet file.

Send email on your behalf – this allows the Product to send Gmail (or Google mail) messages, optionally with workbook attachments.

Analytics Edge Desktop App

When you activate the Analytics Edge Desktop App on your computer, you must provide a valid email address. This email address is used to associate the license keys with an individual so you can request license resets or transfers. It may also be used to contact you about time-critical Product support issues.

Separate accounts can provide you with access to Google Sheets files stored in Google Drive accounts, and to send Gmail messages from within the Product.

The product includes a link to the Google Drive File Picker Utility listed below.

Google Drive/Google Sheets permissions requested:

Connect itself to your Google Drive – this allows you to select files and folders in Google Drive to ‘Open with > Analytics Edge Desktop App’, making those files and folders visible to the Product. The Product will only display folders and Google Sheets files with this permission.

See, edit, create, and delete only the specific Google Drive files you use with this app – this allows the app to create new folders for your files. The Product will only create new folders with this permission.

See, edit, create, and delete your Google Sheets spreadsheets – this allows the Product to read and write your data into your selected Google Sheets spreadsheet file.

Associate you with your personal info on Google / View your email address – these permissions (together) allow the Product to obtain your email address to associate with the saved security token.

Gmail permissions requested:

Send email on your behalf – this allows the Product to send Gmail (or Google mail) messages, optionally with workbook attachments.

Google Drive File Picker Utility

This optional utility, available from the Analytics Edge Desktop App and Analytics Edge Add-in for Excel, allows you to browse your Google Drive and select a Google Sheets file, and return the file Id to the calling application. The utility, which is hosted on the license.analyticsedge.com web server, opens in a new browser window and needs to be authorized in order to work.

Google Drive permissions requested:

See, edit, create, and delete only the specific Google Drive files you use with this app – this allows the app to select (pick) a file in your Google Drive. When selected, the utility sends the file Id back to the calling application. The utility is configured so it does not make any other action available.

Analytics Edge Connector for AdWords (Google Ads)

Permissions requested:

See, edit, create, and delete your Google Ads accounts and data – this allows the Product to access to your Google Ads data. Although the permission also allows management of your Ads campaigns, the connector only downloads your data and makes no changes to your account or your campaigns.

Analytics Edge Connector for GA Free (Universal Analytics)

Permissions requested:

See and download your Google Analytics data – this allows the Product to have read-only access to your Google Analytics data.

Analytics Edge Connector for GA (Pro)

Permissions requested:

View Google Analytics user permissions – this allows the Product to read user permissions in your Google Analytics account on your behalf.

Edit Google Analytics management entities – this allows the Product to read and change your Google Analytics management settings like filters and uploading data on your behalf.

See and download your Google Analytics data – this allows the Product to have read-only access to your Google Analytics data.

Analytics Edge Connector for Google Search

Permissions requested:

View Search Console data for your verified sites – this allows the Product to have read-only access to your Google Search Console data.

Analytics Edge Connector for Facebook Insights

When you authorize Analytics Edge to have access to your Facebook Insights data, you are authorizing the locally installed copy of the Analytics Edge connector. A security access token is created and stored, strongly encrypted, on your computer for use only by the application itself. Note that the application will not do anything by itself – it will only perform the actions you direct it to. You can delete the stored access token by deleting the entry in the Accounts wizard.

Note that your security tokens, queries and data are stored and processed only on your computer, and are sent direct to Facebook’s API server.

Analytics Edge Connector for Facebook Ads

When you authorize Analytics Edge to have access to your Facebook Ads data, you are authorizing the locally installed copy of the Analytics Edge connector. A security access token is created and stored, strongly encrypted, on your computer for use only by the application itself. Note that the application will not do anything by itself – it will only perform the actions you direct it to. You can delete the stored access token by deleting the entry in the Accounts wizard.

Note that your security tokens, queries and data are stored and processed only on your computer, and are sent direct to Facebook’s API server.

Analytics Edge Product Security

Analytics Edge Products provide direct access between your computer and the web service you connect to (for example, the Google Analytics Reporting API service) — there is no intermediate Analytics Edge server processing or relaying your queries or data. When you connect to external web services to access your data, they require you to authorize the access, request your data (a “query”), and download your data. Repeating this process during unattended refreshes (for example: an overnight download of your data) requires that the Product stores your identity to authorize the access. The Product is designed to keep each stage of this process secure.

Account Authentication

The Product uses the latest, most secure authentication available for each web service; in most cases, this means using Oauth2 access tokens. All of your security access tokens or other credentials are encrypted using FIPS 140-2 compliant AES encryption and are stored in configuration files on your computer — note that they are saved in configuration files, not in your workbooks. The queries in the workbooks cannot be refreshed without the information in the configuration files, so sharing workbooks does not grant other people access to your accounts.

Account Identification

Account information is saved using a “Reference Name” as an identifier which can usually be changed to hide the actual identity of the account, if desired. The Reference Name is not encrypted in configuration files, and it can be clearly visible in queries saved in your workbooks. The Reference Name may also appear in error messages which can be captured during Product usage tracking and in software exception logging.

Data Transfer Security

All web service queries and data transfers occur directly between the web services and your computer using the most secure mechanism provided by the service; in most cases this is using TLS 1.2 security protocols, what most people think of as an “https” connection.

Information We Collect

Device Information – Some Analytics Edge Products are free to use, but all Analytics Edge Products require licenses to operate. The licensing algorithm uses various characteristics of your computer (“Device Information”) to tailor a license specifically for your device. Device Information is only used for product licensing purposes.

Email Address – When you purchase or activate Analytics Edge Product licenses, you may be required to provide an email address. Your email address is only used for product support purposes.

Product Usage Information – Analytics Edge Products track a variety of user interface actions. This usage tracking includes actions like menu selections, button presses, automated refresh requests, and error messages. Note: the usage tracking does not record, expose, or access your saved security tokens, query details or data but it may include account Reference Names in error logging. Your Product Usage Information is only used for Product improvement purposes.

Software Exception Logging – Should the Product encounter an unexpected software fault (an “exception”), details of the fault may be captured. Note: the Software Exception Logging does not record, expose, or access your security tokens, query details or data but it may include account Reference Names. Software Exception Logging is only used for Product improvement purposes.

IP Address – When capturing your Device Information, Email Address and Product Usage Information, your IP address may also be recorded. Your IP Address is only used for Product support purposes.

Sharing Your Information With Third Parties

We share your information with third parties only when required to allow us to provide licensing, support and Product improvement. For example, we use:

Google Analytics to help us understand how our customers use the Product . For their privacy policy, see https://www.google.com/intl/en/policies/privacy/
Dreamhost to host our licensing server and database, as well as store Product exception logs. For their privacy policy, see https://www.dreamhost.com/legal/privacy-policy/

Managing Your Information

To change the email address associated with your Product installation, open the License wizard and enter your new email address in the space provided.

If you have stopped using the Product and want your email removed, send a request to support@analyticsedge.com.

We keep some data for up to 7 years when necessary for legitimate business or legal purposes, such as security, fraud and abuse prevention, or financial record-keeping.